Learning by doing 8 doc

GETTING INVOLVED IN LEARNING 71 notes or make drawings in your notebook, or speak into your tape recorder. Record what was important or useful to you, as well as what was confusing. Copy the sentence or phrase you’d like to remember, noting the page it’s on. If You Are Listening If it’s an audiotape, listen to it once, just to get started. Then write in your notebook what interested you most about what you heard. Return to that part of the tape and listen to it again. If you’re listening to a lecture or speech, you don’t have the oppor- tunity to hear the whole thing once before you start. In that case, you have to try to get interested before the talk begins. Does the lecture have a title, for instance? Perhaps something in that title, if you think about it, will remind you of something you know. Are there any audio-visual aids in the room? Have you been given a handout? Any of these things can help you find out what’s interesting to you about the talk before it begins. If the speaker hasn’t given you any aids, focus on the speaker him- or her- self. Does this look like a person you would trust to give you good infor- mation or advice? Does he or she look like someone you know? Even focusing on the speaker’s appearance may help you become interested in what the speaker has to say. ACTING OUT What if you’re studying something and, despite your best efforts, you don’t find anything of particular interest in it? Sometimes you just can’t find anything that you can connect with. In that case, pretend you’re someone else who can relate to the mate- rial and has an interest in it! You can become interested in a subject when you involve yourself in it, even when you’re just role-playing. (See Chap- ter 5,“Learning by Doing,” for more on role-playing and other ways to be an active learner.) • Pretend you’re the instructor; decide what will be the focus of the next class. Let that direct your studying. HOW TO STUDY 72 • Act! Take on somebody else’s interests. If you’re studying man- agement, for example, assume the role of a business executive. If you’re studying for a science course, pretend you’re a research biologist. And so on. You’ll find yourself more responsible for your own learning when you use your interests to connect with what you’re studying. The mater- ial will be more meaningful to you and you’ll enjoy it more. Then you’ll remember it better! IN SHORT Use what interests you. Find something familiar in what you’re studying and build on it to help make sense of newer material. You can also become interested in something by taking on someone else’s interests. You can pretend you’re the instructor, or you can act the part of someone connected to the subject you’re studying. When you use interest as your foundation in study, you’re assuming more responsibility for your studying. You’re making it meaningful to you. GETTING INVOLVED IN LEARNING 73 Practice Tips The next time you’re looking at a newspaper, choose a section you rarely read. Choose any article in that section. • Start with the headline. Make it interesting to you by finding a familiar word or phrase and thinking about what you already know about it. • Use your hidden camera and skim the article to find something else familiar. • Assume the part of someone in the article who is being quoted. Move around and act as you imagine that person might act as you read the quote aloud. • What else do you need to know to understand the article? Write a list of questions you have. Direct some of the questions to the reporter who wrote the article, and some of the questions to someone quoted in the article. • Now you’re ready to read the article—with interest! . subject when you involve yourself in it, even when you’re just role-playing. (See Chap- ter 5, Learning by Doing, ” for more on role-playing and other ways to be an active learner.) • Pretend you’re. with it. And you can do this by anticipating what you read before you begin. While you read, ask questions, make pictures in your head, take notes, and use your learning styles. Stop when you. pretend you’re a research biologist. And so on. You’ll find yourself more responsible for your own learning when you use your interests to connect with what you’re studying. The mater- ial will be